TABLE OF CONTENTS
* Upcoming Reggae Festivals
* Learn About Caribbean Food! See Below for Caribbean Food Education
* Fun & Games: What's Patois for a common exclamation of surprise? (find answer below)
* Band Promotion: Four Ways to Attract More Music Fans Faster
* Reggae Biz Online Marketing Tidbit: 5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Website
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Upcoming Reggae Festivals
Friday, May 6, 2005
New Leaf Wailersfest
Sangha Hall
Hilo, Hawaii, U.S.
www.hawaiireggae.com
Hotline: 800-736-3922
Friday-Saturday, May 6-7, 2005
Loyal Family Zoe Jam 2005
Camp Zoe
Salem, Missouri, U.S.
www.loyalfamily.com
Hotline: 314-776-7171
Saturday, May 7, 2005
Reggae Sunsplash 2005
Trempealeau Hotel
Trempealeau, Wisconsin, U.S.
www.trempealeauhotel.com
Hotline: 608-534-6898
Friday-Sunday, May 13-15, 2005
Joshua Tree Music Festival
Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree, California, U.S.
www.joshuatreemusicfestival.com
Hotline: 877-327-6265
Friday-Sunday, May 13-15, 2005
Uphonia
Spanish Moss Farms
Quincy, Florida, U.S.
www.uphoniafest.com
Hotline: 727-724-9755
Friday-Sunday, May 13-15, 2005
White Mountains Unity Festival
Branch Brook Campground
Campton, New Hampshire, U.S.
www.whitemountainsunityfestival.com
Hotline: 603-744-6299
Wednesday-Sunday, May 18-22, 2005
Afrika Tage München 2005
Munich, Germany
www.afrika-tage.de
Hotline: 0049-89-74117155
Saturday-Sunday, May 21-22, 2005
6th Annual Phoenix Legends of Rasta Reggae Festival
Tom's Festival Grounds & Park
Phoenix/Buckeye, Texas, U.S.
www.legendsofrastareggaefestival.com
Hotline: 281-893-0044
Friday-Sunday, May 27-29, 2005
Camp Reggae
Isabella, Tennessee, U.S.
www.campreggae.com
Hotline: 706-632-5408
Friday-Sunday, May 27-29, 2005
Big Wu Family Reunion
Harmony Park Music Garden
Geneva, Minnesota, U.S.
www.thebigwu.com
Hotline: 651-251-1028
Friday-Sunday, May 28-30, 2005
Dallas Caribbean Festival
Dallas Fair Park
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
www.dallasfestival.com
Hotline: 214-632-9531
Sunday-Monday, May 29-30, 2005
UCLA Jazz/ Reggae Festival
UCLA Campus
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/jazzreggae
Hotline: 310-825-9912
Festival listings are believed to be correct. Please contact the promoter
directly for more information. Promoters are responsible for making sure their
festival info is correct on www.ReggaeFestivalGuide.com prior to this publication.
Are you a reggae festival promoter? Post your festival at
www.ReggaeFestivalGuide.com/post_festival.html
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Learn About Caribbean Food - Caribbean Food Education
* Ackee *
Ackee and Saltfish is the national dish of Jamaica. Ackee is not a fruit,
it is a flower from the ackee tree, and when cooked it has the appearance
of scrambled eggs, and the texture of avocado.
* Cove Cakes *
Cove Cakes are similar to a hush puppie, but slightly sweet and cooked to
make it puff up with air like a small pita pocket.
* Goat *
According to the USDA, goat meat is lower in saturated fats than any of
the mostly commonly consumed meats in the U.S. Goat meat is widely enjoyed
throughout the world from Latin to Caribbean to Middle Eastern to Old
World cultures.
* Sorrel*
A refreshing purple-colored beverage made from steeping leaves of Hibiscus
sabdariffa with water and ginger.
* Ginger Beer *
A non-alcoholic, spicy tasting drink made with raw ginger root.
Courtesy of (c) 2004 The Caribbean Cove.
The Caribbean Cove Now Open!
Berkeley, Calif., April 23, 2005 - Chef Judith O'Loughlin is pleased to
announce the opening of of her new restaurant - 'The Caribbean Cove' -
at *2556 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704*. Open for lunch and dinner
from Tuesday through Sunday, the restaurant will serve up Judith's fare
of exotic and authentic Caribbean dishes. Long-time fans of Judith and
newcomers alike are invited to come and celebrate!
The Caribbean Cove is a woman-of-color owned independent restaurant and
catering business serving the San Francisco Bay area. The Caribbean Cove
serves up authentic Caribbean cuisine for a wide range of special
occasions including hosted events, corporate parties, wedding
receptions, theme parties, backstage cooking for music events and more.
For a menu and information on services, visit www.thecaribbeancove.com
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Fun & Games
What's Patois for a common exclamation of surprise?
"BLOUSE AND SKIRT"
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Band Promotion: Four Ways to Attract More Music Fans Faster
Attracting more fans. Admit it, that's what music marketing is all about --
getting more people to come to your shows and buy your CDs. And hopefully,
getting a lot more people to do those things.
Why else do you work so hard to travel and play as many places as you can?
For what other reason do you meticulously write and record songs? I don't
believe the reason is so you can practice and keep up your chops in obscurity.
It's not because you want to impress influential managers or A&R people. You
work hard because you know you have something of value to offer ... and you
want to reach as many people as possible with your music.
Marketing is the thing that helps you reach that goal. But marketing is
also a subject that confuses a lot of musicians. Songwriters and band members
the world over know they need to promote themselves. But many don't know where
to start, much less know how to continue effectively.
Does this describe you? Do you ever feel like you're spinning your wheels, not
sure exactly what you should be doing next to market yourself? If so, this would
be a good time to cover some basic marketing concepts for independent musicians.
The VFW Hall Principle
Let's say you went to an average U.S. city (such as Kansas City or Denver)
and you rounded up 1,000 people and gathered them in a giant VFW hall. These
1,000 folks would be randomly chosen and made up of people from all ages, genders
and backgrounds. Next, you'd distribute information about your act to these
people and play tracks from your new CD for them.
After this direct exposure, what are the chances that one person out of
those thousand would be attracted to your music and identity enough to buy your
CD or come to your next show? Most musicians, regardless of what style they play,
should feel pretty confident about being able to win over at least one new fan
from this group of 1,000. That's a one-tenth of one percent conversion rate.
Now let's multiply that formula by the entire U.S. population of 285 million
people. One-tenth of one percent would be 285,000 people. Mind-boggling, isn't
it? That would be enough fans to make you a bonafide star.
Meanwhile, Back at the Corporate Office
Next, switch gears and consider how major labels market themselves. They
select and promote acts that they feel have the potential to appeal to 10 or
more of those same 1,000 people. Then the labels spend millions of dollars in
what I call shotgun advertising. They spray their marketing message over a targeted
chunk of the population (which often amounts to many millions of people), knowing
well that only a small percentage will be interested enough to respond and become
fans. Sometimes, this widespread tactic works well enough to sell lots of CDs and
concert tickets -- but it's very expensive.
As an independent artist, you can't afford that type of marketing campaign.
But you know those potential fans are out there, and you know that you can be
successful by connecting with far fewer people than a major label requires. It's
just that your ideal fans haven't found out about you yet -- and you're not quite
sure how to find them.
What's a frustrated musician to do?
The answer: You must find creative, low-cost ways to go directly to those
one-in-a-thousand fans. Don't waste your time and money promoting yourself to
people who will most likely never embrace your music.
Here are four steps to take to reach new fans:
1. Define Your Distinct Musical Identity
You must have a firm grasp on what your music is about. And you must be able to
define it clearly and quickly. What are your strongest musical traits? What sets
you apart from other acts? What attitude or social statement do you make? Being a
generic rock, pop or hip-hop act won't cut it. Dig deeper and discover your unique
identity. When you do finally reach some of those rare potential fans, don't lose
them by not being clear about who you are.
2. Describe Your Ideal Fan
Once you have a handle on who you are musically, it's time to paint a clear picture
of your ideal fan. Can you articulate how your fans dress, where they work, what
TV shows they watch, what they do for fun and who their favorite cultural heroes are?
Observe the types of people who come to see you perform and note what they have in
common? Knowing precisely who your fans are will dictate what avenues you use to reach
them and how you communicate your message once you do reach them.
3. List Ways of Getting Access to Your Fans
Once you know exactly what type of music fan you're going after, start making a
list of the various resources these specific people are attracted to. What magazines
and newspapers do they read? Where do they hang out? What radio stations do they listen
to? What retail outlets do they frequent? What web sites do they surf to? What e-mail
newsletters do they subscribe to? For example, if your fans are mostly Harley riders,
go to a search engine like Google and start entering keywords related to motorcycles.
Evaluate the search results and compile a list of the many good sources you uncover.
4. Network and Promote Your Music
Armed with this targeted list of contacts, get busy! Send e-mail press releases
to niche media outlets. Contact the webmasters and editors of appropriate publications.
Post messages in specialized forums. Visit and interact via the web sites of similar
sounding bands. Contact organizations and charities related to your musical niche.
In short, go to where your ideal fans are. And market yourself through these
outlets relentlessly. Why waste time and money trying to promote to everyone ...
when you can save money and be far more effective by going directly to those valuable
one-in-a-thousand fans?
Bob Baker is the author of "Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook," "Unleash the
Artist Within" and "Branding Yourself Online." He also publishes TheBuzzFactor.com,
a web site and e-zine that deliver marketing tips, self-promotion ideas and other
empowering messages to music people of all kinds. Get your FREE subscription to
Bob's e-zine by visiting http://TheBuzzFactor.com today.
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Planning a special event for next summer?
The Caribbean Cove has begun renovations on our new Berkeley, California
location! Ask to be added to our mailing list for updates on the grand opening.
Book your caterer today! The Caribbean Cove is now accepting
bookings for next summer's event season. Spice up your party with
food from the islands - weddings, corporate events, birthday parties,
customer appreciation, moving parties and more. We deliver authentic,
high-quality Caribbean food to your door with a professional and
courteous manner - ask for references or see our customer testimonials
online: www.thecaribbeancove.com
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Reggae Biz Online Marketing Tidbit:
5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Website
When designing your website, remember to avoid useless and confusing
features, however "cool" they may seem to be. Usually, keeping things simple
and consistent are the best way to go. Here are five easy ways to improve your
website and make it more appealing to your visitors.
1. Put your logo on every page of your site, and in the same location. Usually,
the best place to put it is in the upper left corner of the page. Remember to make
your logo clickable, linking to the main page of your site (an exception is the logo
of the main page itself, since you are already there). The benefit of doing so is
that if your visitors get lost they can always come back to a familiar location.
2. Don't use a splash screen. Splash screens are seen in many websites before
they give you access to the main page. They are usually slow-loading Flash
animations that only delay and frustrate users. Remember, when your users want
animation, they can turn on the TV. When they go to your website, they usually want
information, and they want it fast. Some sites that use splash screens now provide
a "Skip the Introduction" link, which most users click anyway, further validating
the uselessness of flash screens.
3. Avoid using heavy pictures. They unnecessarily delay the page upload process.
It is OK to use graphics, but they have to be optimized for the web. Use only .gif and
.jpg formats. If the pictures are too heavy, try using some of the on-line graphic
optimizing tools. They can reduce the weight of your pictures by more than 50% with
no noticeable decrease in quality. Another thing you can do is to use thumbnails
(clickable miniature versions of a picture). If a user is interested in the picture,
he can click on the thumbnail and wait until the full size picture is displayed.
4. Try not to use animated banners or fancy icons. Just because you can is not a
good reason to load up your site with neon-colored, flashing-and-popping, Vegas-style
graphics. They usually take away from the content of your site and distract users.
Plus, it has been demonstrated that less and less users click on banners every day.
5. Don't make your pages too long. People don't like to read from a screen. Instead,
try to use the advantages of hyperlinks to present a summary of the topic or article,
with a link to the full article in another page (similar to what newspapers do in their
main page, with the added benefit for web users that it is easier to click on a link
than to turn a page). If what you have to say is too long, break the discussion in
several parts, each of them with a link to where your visitor can continue reading.
Remember, the goal is to give your visitors fast access to your information, through an
interface (website) that is visually appealing and easy to use.
Mario Sanchez publishes The Internet Digest (http://www.theinternetdigest.net) a website
andnewsletter that gives you useful advice on web design and Internet marketing, one
free tip at a time.
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Getting Serious About Promoting Your Band?
You love creating music and/or art, but you are bogged down with mundane
tasks of every day business - putting your creativity on the back burner.
Having a manager is essential to surviving the business of promoting your
own talent in this day and age. One burgeoning company based out of
California is ready to take your talent to the next level. Owner's name is
Amy Shapas and she is willing to negotiate a contract with you that you
are able to afford. Call 831-479-0711 and visit her website at www.soyoucan.com.
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Contact Us
Reggae Festival E-Guide
P.O. Box 10917, Napa, CA 94581
Website: www.ReggaeFestivalEGuide.com
Email: eguideReggaeFestivalEGuide.com
707-257-6652
Please feel free to pass this ezine along to your friends. However, we ask that you forward it in its entirety.
(c) 2004 Reggae Festival E-Guide, ISSN 1551-6121
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